NCAA cites UW-La Crosse

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's Committee on
Infractions released a report finding that the University of
Wisconsin-La Crosse's intercollegiate athletics program has
committed three major violations related to the school's financial
aid practices.

The NCAA found the violations began at least as early as the
2007-08 academic year, with evidence that the prohibited practices
have been ongoing for 20 years or more. In the period studied, the
NCAA found no evidence to suggest that UW-L's student-athletes
improperly received financial aid or that members of UW-L's
athletics or campus staff acted intentionally to violate NCAA
rules. Rather, the University's procedures for awarding financial
aid allowed for consideration of athletics leadership,
participation, or performance and permitted service of athletics
staff members on scholarship selection committees, neither of which
is permissible under NCAA legislation. Because the practices were
so longstanding, the NCAA concluded that the university failed to
educate and monitor those staff members involved in the
administration of the scholarship process and the institution's
intercollegiate athletics program.

According to the report, the first violation is that from at
least the 2007-08 academic year through the 2011-12 academic year,
UW-L considered athletics leadership, participation or performance
as a criterion in the awarding of two scholarships and allowed for
the consideration of these same criteria in the awarding of five
additional scholarships. These practices violated NCAA Division III
Bylaw 15.4.1-(a), which states that institutions shall not consider
such factors in the formulation of financial aid packages.

The second violation is that from at least the 2007-08 academic
year through the 2011-12 academic year, members of UW-L's athletics
staff, many of whom maintain joint appointments in the University's
Exercise and Sport Science Department, served as members of
scholarship selection committees, a practice prohibited by NCAA
Division III Bylaw 15.4.5.

The third violation is that UW-L failed to monitor and educate
personnel involved in the administration of the institution's
scholarship program, a conclusion based on the longstanding nature
of the university's flawed scholarship practices. The implicated
rule, NCAA Division III Bylaw 2.8.1, places responsibility on the
institution for the conduct of its intercollegiate athletics
program and requires efforts to ensure compliance with applicable
NCAA legislation.

The Committee on Infractions' report brings to a close an
investigation that has been ongoing since March 2011. The
investigation began when financial aid data that UW-L submitted to
the NCAA in September 2010 as part of an annually required
reporting process indicated that incoming student-athletes were
receiving financial aid in disproportionate percentages when
compared to their non-athlete peers. The NCAA's Financial Aid
Committee conducted a more detailed review and, after determining
that violations had occurred, referred the case to the NCAA's
enforcement staff, which launched an in-depth investigation. The
university cooperated fully in the process, which included
providing various documents and facilitating interviews with campus
personnel. The enforcement staff served UW-L with an official
Notice of Inquiry Letter in October 2011, followed by a draft of
allegations in November. Upon reviewing the allegations, the
University elected not to contest either the facts or the
seriousness of the violations and to pursue the case through the
NCAA's summary disposition process.

As a result of these violations, the Committee on Infractions
has assessed the university with both punitive actions and
corrective measures. For the next two years, UW-L will be on
probation, during which time it must institute a variety of
educational programs for campus staff, inform prospective
student-athletes of the program's probationary status, and submit
regular compliance reports to the NCAA. The most notable corrective
measures include creating a more dedicated chief compliance officer
function on the athletics staff and implementing a variety of
campus and departmental educational programs.

“We regret to announce today that the NCAA has found our
athletic program to have committed three major violations related
to our university's financial aid practices," said UW-La Crosse
athletic director Josh Whitman. "Fortunately, there is no evidence
that any person associated with our program acted intentionally to
violate NCAA rules, or that our student-athletes actually received
aid because of their involvement in athletics. All violations were
the result of inadvertent actions on the part of university and
athletics staff. Importantly, no student-athletes were
directly involved.

“With any challenge comes opportunity, and we are committed
to parlaying these unfortunate circumstances into a learning
opportunity for our athletics staff and our greater campus
community. Our program prides itself on conducting our operations
with the utmost integrity and, with the NCAA's guidance, we will
implement new policies and procedures that will help us advance our
goal of being the nation's premier Division III intercollegiate
athletics program.”